The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday apologized for the recent Papua New Guinea (PNG) aid scandal, saying the loss of US$30 million was part of a failed attempt to establish ties with PNG and not a case involving government kickbacks.
“We deeply regret what happened, but we believe that no officials received kickbacks,” DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) told a press conference at the party’s headquarters.
“It was a diplomatic gaffe, with [former vice premier] Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) being deceived by two liars,” said Ker, referring to the two middlemen, Ching Chi-ju (金紀玖) and his partner Wu Shih-tsai (吳思材), who served as the intermediaries in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) bungled attempt to forge diplomatic relations with PNG. The press conference was called after a DPP task force charged with probing the scandal held its first meeting during which Chiou was asked to offer an account of the matter.
PHOTO: LU CHUN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Chiou initiated the monetary aid aimed at forging diplomatic relations with PNG when he was the head of the National Security Council in 2006.
However, the ministry later discovered that the US$30 million it had remitted on Sept. 14, 2006, to a Singaporean bank account jointly held by Ching and Wu had gone missing.
Taiwanese prosecutors have detained Wu and are holding him incommunicado.
Chiou, Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) and Deputy Minister of National Defense Ko Chen-heng (柯承亨) resigned on Tuesday to take political responsibility for the scandal as prosecutors continued their investigation into the case.
DPP Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), the convener of the task force, DPP Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), and Ker yesterday bowed as they apologized to the public over the scandal.
Ker told the press that Chiou’s account during the closed-door meeting was the same as what he said in public in the past few days.
“Chiou didn’t hide anything from us, and we believe him,” Ker said.
After hearing Chiou’s report, Chai said he understood why Chiou “was taken for a ride.”
“Huang met with Papua New Guinea’s prime minister on Dec. 13, 2006, in a third country, and in January 2007 then vice minister of foreign affairs Katharine Chang (張小月) met Papua New Guinea’s foreign affairs minister,” Chai said.
“Because of this diplomatic progress, Chiou wasn’t aware that [Ching and Wu] were liars,” Chai said.
Ching, currently in the US, and Wu offered different accounts of the matter.
Wu alleged that Chiou, Huang and Ko received different amounts of kickbacks.
Ching, speaking through his attorney Chang Hsiu (張修), said he didn’t embezzle the money, which was all used in handling Taiwan’s diplomatic affairs, with some being used for “a third country.”
“I have no idea what Chang said. The US$30 million was earmarked for establishing ties with Papua New Guinea,” Chiou said yesterday when asked for a response.
Meanwhile, Chiou confirmed a report in yesterday’s Chinese-language United Daily News that he and his wife have been divorced two weeks ago.
He said the divorce was not related to the diplomatic scandal, rebutting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers’ allegations that the divorce was a ploy to transfer his property to his divorced wife to avoid prosecutors’ investigation.
Ker demanded Taipei District Prosecutors Office’s Prosecutor-General Wang Tien-sheng (王添盛) restrain its prosecutors from spreading rumors during an investigation.
Prosecutors yesterday barred Chiou from leaving the country and issued restrictions on Huang and Ko’s movements.
At a separate setting yesterday, DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) urged the public to give prosecutors the freedom to investigate the case.
The KMT caucus slammed Premier Chang Chun-hsiung (張俊雄) yesterday over a DPP caucus proposal to block a KMT initiative requiring Chang to report to the legislature how he plans to deal with the fund scandal.
The KMT proposal, which was scheduled for discussion during yesterday’s plenary session, was referred to further cross-party negotiations in accordance with the DPP proposal, thus blocking the KMT’s plan to question the premier before the new administration assumes office on May 20.
At a press conference, KMT caucus deputy secretary-general Wu Yu-sheng (吳育昇) accused Chang of defying the legislature.
Wu said that the DPP caucus’ proposal showed Chang had a “tacit agreement” with President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) and was unwilling to defend the president’s involvement in the scandal by briefing the legislature.
The KMT caucus had demanded that Chang and Cabinet members who may be linked to the fund fraud case report to the legislature. However, cross-party negotiation sessions convened by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) earlier this week failed as the Cabinet said it was no longer necessary as Chiou and Huang had resigned.
Asked for comment, KMT Legislator Chang Hsien-yao (張顯耀) said the Cabinet’s reluctance to brief the legislature was a move by the premier to distance himself from Chiou and Huang.
Since the premier supervised Huang and Chiou, Chang Chun-hsiung should take responsibility for the matter on the legislative floor, Chang Hsien-yao said.
Chang Hsien-yao also questioned why Chiou did not hold any national security meetings before wiring the money to Ching and Wu’s joint account.
Meanwhile, prosecutors said yesterday they would seek the help of US law enforcement officers to investigate and arrest Ching.
They said they might also dispatch prosecutors to the US to try to get hold of Ching.
On Ching’s request for a lighter sentence if he turned witness, Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office Spokesman Lin Jinn-tsun (林錦村) said yesterday that justice was not a business, so there’s no chance for “trading.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
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